Survey Says iPhone Has Highest Retention Rate at 89%, HTC Second with 39%

According to a new survey by UBS Investment Research which polled 515 international “high-end customers,” Apple’s iPhone has the highest retention rate among smartphone users, with an enormous 89 percent of users claiming they’re going to stick with the brand when the next generation releases. The second highest retention rate among smartphone users is HTC, with 39 percent, a staggering gap between first and second. Interestingly, Research in Motion, once king of smartphones with their BlackBerry line, took the biggest hit, with their retention rate dropping from 62 percent to 33 percent in the last 18 months. Android vendors Samsung and Motorola brought up the top 5 rear, with a respective 28 and 25 percent retention rate.

The Android software did better than the Android hardware, with 55 percent of users saying they’ll keep with the operating system, although 31 percent of Android users claimed they are going to defect to Apple for their next phone. Interestingly, the survey found that 50 percent of people who plan to switch brands for their next phone plan to switch to Apple, whereas only 10 percent of phone switchers are going away from Apple. What’re your thoughts? Can’t wait for the next iteration(s) of the iPhone(s), or do you just really want to stick with the openness of Android?